Featured: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, left, is interviewed by Mark Hanna, Publisher, Rio Grande Guardian, on Thursday, January 25, 2018, at Bob’s Steak and Chop House in Edinburg. The two men discussed numerous major issues relating to the Texas Legislature, South Texas, and Hidalgo County. That conversation, which was broadcast live and is available on the Rio Grande Guardian, which is South Texas’ first online newspaper, is available at no cost by logging on to: https://www.facebook.com/rgguardian/videos/1800590286640933/?sid=0.46409932360984385 .

Photograph By STEVE TAYLOR

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)/Texas, the state’s leading small business association, has announced that Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, is the only state legislator from Hidalgo County – and only one of three Democrats in the Texas Legislature – who earned a perfect 100 percent rating on key measures of vital importance to small businesses in the state. “Small businesses are the life blood of our South Texas economy, and I will always make an effort to support policies that help small businesses grow, operate, and flourish,” said Canales, the House District 40 lawmaker. “I invite anyone who has ideas to help small businesses to contact me with their vision, and I will help them learn about and become part of the state legislative process.” He may be reached at his House District Office in Edinburg at (956) 383-0860 or at the Capitol at (512) 463-0426. House District 40 includes portions or all of Edinburg, Elsa, Faysville, La Blanca, Linn, Lópezville, McAllen, Pharr and Weslaco. “These distinguished lawmakers understand and value the true backbone of Texas’ economy, small business owners, and the impact public policy changes will have on these owners’ abilities to own, operate, and grow their businesses,” said NFIB Executive Director Will Newton. “Lawmakers who vote with small business during session are fulfilling their campaign promises to keep the Texas economy robust, as small businesses account for 99.8 percent of all businesses in the state.”

Featured: City Councilmember Gilbert Enríquez is sworn in on Wednesday, November 15, 2017 in the Council Chamber at Edinburg City Hall. With Enríquez in this image is his wife, Diana, and Judge Patty Ocañas-Olivarez, who administered the oath of office to the city councilmember, who soon after was appointed by his colleagues to serve on the five-member Edinburg Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors. The Edinburg EDC is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. Along with Councilmember Enríquez, who serves as President of the Edinburg EDC Board of Directors, Edinburg School Board Trustee Miguel “Mike” Farías serves as Vice-President, Isael Posadas, P.E., is Secretary/Treasurer, and Julio César Carranza and Noé Sauceda, Ph.D., are Members.

Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

The Edinburg Economic Development Corporation’s downtown offices, effective on Monday, January 29, 2018, will complete its relocation to Edinburg City Hall in order to generate new, non-tax revenue for its jobs-creation mission, Mayor Richard Molina and City Councilmember Gilbert Enríquez, the President of the EEDC Board of Directors, have announced. The Edinburg EDC is now based on the second floor at City Hall, as part of the Edinburg City Manager’s suite. The Edinburg EDC’s telephone number – 956/383-7124 – remains the same. “Upon my request, Edinburg City Manager Richard Hinojosa confirmed that there were excellent office space and related resources available at City Hall to house the staff and activities of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation and its Board of Directors,” the mayor said. “This action allows the Edinburg EDC to lease its vacated offices spaces, which will generate new non-tax revenue for its many vital projects.” Soon to be listed as available for lease, the former Edinburg EDC offices, located at 101 North 10th Avenue, represent 3,200-square feet. That suite, which is part of the building owned by the Edinburg EDC, features five offices, one receptionist area, two conference rooms, a kitchen, one work station, a waiting area, a copy area, three bathrooms, closets and storage rooms. Rep. Terry Canales’ legislative offices will remain in the other half of the Edinburg EDC building, which is located at 415 West University Drive, immediately west of the Hidalgo County Courthouse. “In our dedication to help existing businesses to expand, and to recruit new businesses, Edinburg City Hall will nowtruly become a one-stop center for economic development, because all the key issues needed for businesses to grow, from learning the zoning requirements, obtaining building permits, meeting with the key city and Edinburg EDC leadership, and so on, all will now take place in one location,” said Enríquez. “So when potential developers come into City Hall, they are able to go to every department and get the answers they need in order to continue with the activities they want to do in Edinburg.” The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Enríquez as President, Edinburg School Board Trustee Miguel “Mike” Farías as Vice-President, Isael Posadas, P.E., as Secretary/Treasurer, and Julio César Carranza and Noé Sauceda, Ph.D., as Members.

Featured: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, recites the Pledge of Allegiance on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives at the Texas Capitol in Austin. In an effort to help South Texas residents better understand the pros and cons of building a new Hidalgo County Courthouse, the House District 40 lawmaker has submitted a series of questions, which Canales has received from his legislative constituents, to Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García. García has been the main supporter of a current plan favored by the county judge to build a new courthouse, whose cost could reach $150 million, in downtown Edinburg, next to existing Hidalgo County Courthouse.

Photograph By HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, an attorney whose House District 40 features much of Edinburg, including the downtown region, in a January 16, 2018 letter to Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia, has submitted concerns from citizens. “There is little doubt that our current courthouse is not adequate for the actual needs of this community, yet I believe we need to work together to clarify misconceptions that seem to be circulating around the area,” Canales stated in his letter to García. “I have a series of questions that I have been asked by Hidalgo County residents that I would like answered in writing to help my constituents and myself become more comfortable with this project.” Canales said as he receives the responses – on the county judge’s official letterhead – to the specific questions from citizens, he will share those answers in follow-up news releases from his legislative office and postings on social media. “It is much better to get Judge Ramón García on the record on these important questions which continue to be asked by the community, show his answers to the people, and let the chips fall where they may,” Canales said. Canales has been deeply involved in introducing and passing state legislation that benefits Hidalgo County residents and county government, including working with Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Rep. Armando Martínez, D-Weslaco, as a joint author in 2015 that resulted in the creation of a special fund to pay for construction, renovation, and repairs to the county courthouse. “Every major issue involving Hidalgo County government and services protecting Hidalgo County residents have been shaped and are reviewed by me,” Canales said. “The current and proposed county courthouse are in the heart of my legislative district, so you can bet that I have been very involved in following this very important development.”

Featured, from left: Jorge Correa, Rio Grande Valley Area Director for Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers; Letty Rodríguez, Escrow Officer/Public Relations/Sales Representative, Edwards Abstract and Title Co., and a member of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; Letty González, President, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; Elva Jackson Garza, Vice President and Marketing Manager, Edwards Abstract and Title Co., and Member, Board of Directors, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; Mayor Richard Molina; Councilmember Gilbert Enríquez, who also serves as President, Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; and Elijah Edwards, Edinburg General Manager, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. The elected officials and business leaders are shown here during the grand opening of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, located at 718 W. University Drive, on Tuesday, December 5, 2017. Seventy-eight employees – with about half of them enrolled as students at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – were hired as a result of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers establishing their first restaurant in Edinburg. Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in chicken fingers and which is known for active community involvement. It was founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana by Todd Graves and Craig Silvey on August 26, 1996.

Photograph By RONNIE LARRALDE

Area leaders, Edinburg residents and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley community may soon receive a major public update on the $5.4+ million Edinburg Transit Terminal under construction, which is being built at 617 W. University Drive between 6th and 7th streets, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. Tom Logan, Director of Valley Metro, said that initial plans call for a presentation to be made about the Edinburg Transit Terminal during the Tuesday, December 19, 2017 public meeting of the Edinburg City Council at Edinburg City Hall. “Everything is still on schedule,” Logan said. “We are excited. It will definitely improve the quality of life in Edinburg. It will create a transportation hub for the city along with synergy (teamwork) with other components that can come into play there.” The promising future for the community officially began on Thursday, May 11, 2017, with the groundbreaking of the multi-million dollar Edinburg Transit Terminal, said City Councilmember Gilbert Enríquez, who also serves as President, Board of Directors for the Edinburg EDC. “The 15,000-square-foot, two-story complex, located on a 1.2 acre tract donated by the Edinburg EDC, will serve as a home for Valley Metro, which is the publicly-owned bus service for deep South Texas that is administered and operated by the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council,” said Enríquez. “One of the many key needs the Edinburg Transit Terminal will fulfill when it opens for business in 2018 will be to help improve vital transportation services into and near the city’s downtown during the work week.” The Edinburg EDC is the jobs-creation arm of Mayor Richard Molina, Mayor Pro-Tem David Torres, Councilmember Homer Jasso, Jr., Councilmember Gilbert Enríquez, and Councilmember Jorge Salinas. In addition to Enríquez, the Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Edinburg School Board Trustee Miguel “Mike” Farías as Vice-President, Isael Posadas, P.E., as Secretary/Treasurer, and Julio César Carranza and Dr. Noé Sauceda as Members.